


I'll Tell You A Secret (Just Don't Tell)

by nerakrose



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: But no one dies, Car Accidents, Coming Out, Community: trope_bingo, Curtain Fic, Cute, Domestic, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Fluff, Forced coming out, HP: EWE, M/M, Muggle Life, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-17
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 20:52:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/642847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerakrose/pseuds/nerakrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Draco are living a fairly normal life with a fairly normal relationship, except for the part where it's, well, <i>secret</i>.</p><p>Completes secret relationship/curtainfic on my trope bingo card.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Tell You A Secret (Just Don't Tell)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks go out to [mrs_jack_turner](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_jack_turner) and [palavapeite](http://archiveofourown.org/users/palavapeite) for the thorough beta work on this fic. ♥ All remaining mistakes are, as always, mine.
> 
> Disclaimer: it's my firm opinion that nobody ever is required to come out, and that no explanation is required for choosing to stay in the closet - i will defend to the end of the earth harry and draco's right to not come out to their friends and family for four years. unfortunately, this doesn't come through very well in this fic and as i'm not in the habit of rewriting old fic, this disclaimer will have to do. harry and draco's friends are entitled to their feelings; from their perspective they've been lied to for years. however, their reactions aren't entirely appropriate (explicitly, ron & ginny both punch harry), and this isn't addressed adequately either (hermione apologises, but nobody else does). for this oversight i can only apologise, and promise to do better in future.

Harry's days were rather normal.

Mondays he had training at the hospital. Tuesdays he had lectures until noon, then a shift at the cafe until five pm. Wednesdays he had a twelve hour shift at the cafe. Thursdays he had training until noon and lectures until six pm. Fridays he had lectures until ten, a long lunch break and training until six pm. Saturdays he had a twelve hour shift at the cafe. Sundays were off.

Draco's days were fairly normal too. He had university every day from eight to five, pretty much - study groups included. Every now and then he auditioned for modelling jobs. Sometimes he got the part and spent evenings, weekends or, if need be, weekdays in front of a camera.

Sometimes, amidst all the work, university and homework, they found the time to see their families and friends. Harry would usually see Teddy on Sundays, if he wasn't going out with Ron for a Quidditch match, or staying at home studying. Draco would usually have afternoon tea with Pansy, and Blaise had taken a liking to Muggle cinema, so sometimes he'd take out half a Wednesday evening for that.

And every three weeks or so, they played Quidditch with their respective group of friends.

Every day started with Draco waking Harry up at half past six. They had coffee and breakfast, the radio was on, the kitchen was warm and they'd do the dishes together before leaving for the day.

Draco would then side-along Harry to either University College Hospital or the cafe, before hopping on the tube to go the rest of the way to London School of Business & Finance (he liked leafing through his notes for the day on the tube and he had the time anyway). Sometimes they'd have lunch together. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Draco would pick Harry up at the cafe, unless he had a photoshoot that evening, and Fridays he'd pick Harry up at the hospital. Sometimes Draco would have photoshoots on Sundays and Harry would go along. He'd bring his textbooks and laptop, and sometimes Draco would bring his too, to get some work done in the breaks.

They had their system; a more or less stable rhythm to their daily life, that had remained pretty much consistent over the past few years. Sometimes Draco got modelling jobs in Amsterdam or Paris and had to be away for a couple of days, but those jobs were the exception rather than the rule.

*

"I've lunch with Ron today," Harry said as he buttered his toast.

"Mmmh, you said," Draco replied. "I'll pick you up when your shift ends?"

"Yeah. Want more eggs?"

"You can have the rest." Draco finished his tea as Harry tipped the rest of the scrambled eggs onto his plate. "There was a message from my agent this morning. She says she might have a job for me on Thursday."

"What kind of job?" Harry looked up. "Another underwear one?"

Draco shook his head. "Perfume commercial. The audition is on Thursday, but it's audition by invite. She's pretty confident I'll get it."

"Cool." Harry grinned. "Is it a big job?"

"Depends." Draco shrugged. "I don't know if it's for TV or just magazine spreads, or billboards. Or all three."

"You haven't been on a billboard in a while," Harry commented. "Missing it?"

"Not really." Draco allowed himself a small smile. "It was a bit unnerving, actually. I'm all right with not having my face plastered all over the city."

"I'm all right with having your face to look at wherever I go," Harry said, grinning. Draco flipped him off.

"I think I'm overdue a visit with my parents." Draco sighed. "Mum's been sending me letters. I think I'll have to firecall her tonight and arrange something for the weekend."

"Can it be Saturday lunch?" Harry asked. "I was hoping we could go out for dinner on Saturday."

"Hopefully." Draco frowned. "Though I'm not sure about Saturday dinner, to be honest. It depends on the job. Shooting is Friday, but might extend into Saturday and Sunday."

Harry made a face. "Maybe we can go out for Sunday dinner instead, then."

"Yeah, we'll see. I have to get the job first." Draco smiled, then reached over to squeeze Harry's hand. "You know I'll call you if it drags out."

"I know." He pushed his plate away. "Is it my turn to cook today?"

"No, it's mine. It's _Tuesday_." Draco stood up and started collecting the dishes. "Oh, I put the clean dish towels away last night."

"Okay." Harry put the jam and butter back into the fridge before joining Draco by the sink. "Gimme a kiss."

Draco turned and pressed his lips against Harry's in a soft kiss.

*

"Hey, Ron, sorry I'm late. The lecture dragged," Harry explained as he slid into the seat opposite Ron. "Did you order already? My shift at the cafe starts in forty-five minutes."

"Yep," Ron answered with an air of exasperation. "Got the usual. Hermione says to pass on her love."

"Right back at her." Harry poured water into his glass from the carafe on the table. "How's things?"

"Pretty good. We decided to try and get pregnant," Ron said, then blushed and shrugged awkwardly. "You know."

"Oh." Harry sat back. "Wow. That's... that's great. You trying already?"

"She's going off the potions next month," Ron said, brightening up. "It's about time, don't you think? Mum's been nagging ever since we got married, and I guess...well..."

"You're ready?" Harry asked, unable to help the warm feeling in his chest. "It's a big decision and all, I don't blame you if you're having second thoughts already."

Ron shook his head. "No second thoughts. It's just, you know, we're not getting any younger? And we've both got stable jobs, what with Hermione having gotten that position last winter, and I'm due a promotion in the Aurors' office." He smiled broadly. "We're thinking maybe two or three little ones, what do you think?"

"I think it sounds great." Harry regarded his friend, who was clearly brimming with excitement. "I'm really happy for you, you know. Good luck with it."

"Thanks." Ron grinned and then the waiter arrived with the food.

"Smells delicious," Harry commented, picking up his cutlery. "I'm starving. I haven't eaten since morning."

"How're your studies going?" Ron asked as he tucked in. "You've got to be finished soon?"

"I've about two years left. My internship with St Mungo's is after Christmas. After that it's one year." Harry picked up his bread. "Over the summer I've got a short internship at a Muggle hospital, so no holidays for me next year. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. Maybe Hermione and I'll have a baby to take up our time then," Ron said. "One can hope."

"Cheers." Harry held up his bread. "How's work? Caught any criminals lately?"

"We're investigating a drug ring. Can't say too much, but we've managed to tie some loose ends together."

"Muggle stuff?"

Ron shook his head. "Illegal potions. We caught someone last week who gave us lots of intel. We're hoping he can lead us to the brains."

"Cool." Harry shoved a large forkful of gulasch into his mouth. "Good stuff."

"Saved any lives lately?" Ron asked.

"Nah. I've been cutting up corpses, though."

"Nice." Ron grimaced. "I never understood why you went into Muggle medicine. Gruesome stuff, that."

"Because I didn't finish my NEWTs," Harry reminded him. "And UCL has a co-op thing with St Mungo's. I get to have a leg in both camps this way."

"I suppose," Ron admitted.

"Besides, I was thinking of doing a PhD after, maybe. Study the use of Muggle Medicine in Magical treatments and maybe facilitate some experiments. There's vast areas of unexplored fields there."

"Doesn't that mean more school?" Ron asked, sceptical. "I don't know, Harry, you're twenty-five and still in school, isn't that weird?"

"Not Really." Harry shrugged. "And it's not school, it's _university_. I'm only taking this long because my studies are part time _and_ because I had to do the Muggle stuff to get in first."

"Couldn't you have done that with Potions, too?"

"Maybe." Harry shrugged again. "But I wanted to do medicine at a Muggle school."

"Fair enough. I was just wondering," Ron said. "It's just kinda weird, you know? I finished my Auror training years ago, and here you are, still studying."

"It's all right. I like it." Harry smiled. "It keeps me busy."

"Yeah, about that." Ron drew himself up, then sighed. "Hermione - well, you know how she is. She's worried and I, well, I just want the best for you, okay?"

"Yes," Harry answered, sceptical. "Is this about my dating habits again? Because we've been through that."

"We just don't want you to be alone, all right? Hermione says she knows a girl, she'll invite her over for dinner, and maybe you can get to know each other, if you want."

Harry shook his head. "No thanks, Ron. I appreciate the gesture, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ron was clearly exasperated.

"I'm sure." Harry forced a smile. "I appreciate it, I really do, Ron, but I'm not interested."

"All right," Ron said reluctantly. "I'll tell her it's a no-go, then."

"Yup."

"Are you seeing someone?" Ron then asked. "Someone from uni? Or something?"

"I'm not seeing anyone from uni," Harry said. "Look, does it really matter? I'm happy the way things are. I don't need blind dates or anything."

"Okay, we'll leave it." Ron scraped up the last of his mashed potatoes. "So, Quidditch? It's the Falcons against the Swallows on Saturday."

"Mmmh, I don't know if I can make it. My shift ends at eight and I might have plans after," Harry said. "What about the Sunday game? Wasn't that Magpies against that American team? Fitchburg Finches?"

"Can't, lunch with the in-laws." Ron made a face. "I said, take them along to the game, but Hermione doesn't approve. I don't understand, to be honest, her parents aren't that adverse to magic. They'd probably like it."

"Too bad. Maybe next weekend?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Lunch Sunday and game after? It's Puddlemere and either Falcons or Swallows."

*

"Hey," Draco said tiredly, closing the front door with a quiet click and lowering his messenger bag to the floor.

"Hey," Harry said, looking up from his textbook. "There's food under a charm in the kitchen."

"Thanks." Draco bent low to untie his shoes. He straightened up slowly and stepped out of them, then hung up his coat.

Harry put the lid on his highlighter and put it in the groove between the pages. "How was the audition?"

"I got the job," Draco said and wandered over. "So I've got shooting tomorrow after classes. TV commercial and stills, so we're likely to need Saturday as well." He stooped to give Harry a kiss.

"Mmh. Food. In the kitchen," Harry said, pushing Draco away lightly.

"I'm not hungry. Just tired." Draco sighed, but wandered into the kitchen anyway. "Ohhh!" he exclaimed. "You made my favourite!"

"I thought you said you weren't hungry?" Harry called out as he opened his book again.

Draco appeared in the doorway with the plate and a fork. "Well, since you made my _favourite_ , I'm going to eat," he said and sat down next to Harry in the sofa. "I've reading to do for tomorrow as well," he remarked.

"A lot?"

"Enough that I can't just do it in the lunchbreak." Draco ate slowly. "I'm so glad to be home, you have no idea."

"The audition tough?" Harry looked up from his textbook. "You do look really tired, you know."

"Not that bad. I was just made to wait for a long time. I managed to finish my paper for tomorrow and do some of my reading. I just have two chapters left." Draco lifted the plate closer to his mouth. "So it wasn't too bad. They wanted me to smoulder." He paused. "It was rather tiring. I hate the smoulder. It's ridiculous."

"But they still hired you," Harry pointed out. "How's the food?"

" _Delicious_. Orgasmic. The best I've ever tasted," Draco said.

Harry grinned. "Thank you."

Draco smiled back, then continued eating. Harry finished reading and highlighting parts on the next four pages while Draco ate.

"My agent wants me to buff up a little," Draco said when he'd cleared his plate.

"Buff up?" Harry frowned. "She wants you to pack on muscle?"

"Yeah." Draco took his plate into the kitchen and ran the water. "She says I'm getting too old to do the lean and wiry teenage-ish look, so she wants me to firm up a little. Not too much, I still need to fit within the measurement margins," he said and filled a glass with water. He closed the tap and walked back into the living room with the glass in hand. "Basically she wants me to change categories."

"Oh." Harry pondered this. "That's not a bad thing, is it?"

Draco shrugged. "I suppose not." He sipped his water. "I don't really mind the prospect of bulking up a bit. It'd be nice to not look so scrawny anymore."

"Are you asking for my opinion?" Harry asked.

"May-beee," Draco answered as he retrieved his messenger bag from the entry hall. "Snuggles?"

"Come here." Harry shifted on the sofa and Draco curled up against him, glass of water on the table and book in hand. He poked Draco's arm experimentally. "I wouldn't mind," he said.

"Am I too skinny?" Draco asked, opening the book on the chapter he needed. "My agent said so and the people at the agency said they nearly didn't pick me because I'm so lean."

"Do _you_ think you're too skinny?" Harry countered, letting his hand drop to curl around Draco's jaw. Draco's stubble was more or less invisible, but Harry liked running his fingertips over it all the same.

"Maybe," Draco answered. He sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

"I like you the way you are, but I also don't mind if you're going to bulk up a bit. I think it could be a good look on you."

"I'd get more jobs if I did," Draco said. "I think I _am_ getting too old for this look in the modelling business."

"Hey, it's your decision," Harry said, squeezing him.

"I _would_ like more jobs," Draco reasoned. "Oh, I forgot to say, I'll get a couple of grand for this one up front and then three hundred per hour after that. I'm expecting to walk away with enough to cover next month's mortgage payment plus some."

"Neat."

"Mmmh."

When Draco didn't say anything more, Harry returned his attention to the textbook. For a long while, the only sounds were those of their breathing, the turning of the pages and the low scratch of highlighters against paper.

Eventually Draco closed his book with a deep breath.

"Finished for today?" Harry asked, thumbing through the pages to see how much he had left himself. Only about five pages.

"Mhh." He put the book on the coffee table and snuggled closer to Harry. "Do you mind?"

"No."

Draco was quiet for a while and Harry got through a whole page, but then: "I think I'm gonna hit the gym tomorrow before I go to the shoot."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... I'll have to start sometime."

"All right." Harry glanced down at Draco, who had closed his eyes and seemed to think that Harry's stomach was a great pillow. "Are you going to fall asleep on me?"

"Maybe."

"I've got a few pages to finish and then we can go to bed."

"Mmmh-mm."

"Or you can go ahead," Harry tried.

"Mmh-hmh."

A few seconds later, Harry gave up on reading. "Draco?" He closed the book and leaned forwards carefully to put it on the table. "Draco, are you asleep?"

"Mnnnoh."

Harry nudged him. "Bedtime. Get up."

"All right." Draco sat up, rubbing his face. Then he yawned.

"I love you very much, you know that?" Harry said and kissed his cheek.

"Sap," Draco replied, but he was smiling.

*

"Where's the golden boyfriend today?" Alina asked and Harry looked up from where he was re-stocking the soft drinks fridge. "He's not shown up yet."

"Ah, he's working today," Harry said, hauling a crate of Nikoline's Orange Juice closer and started lining the bottles up in the fridge.

"He's got a photoshoot?"

"Something like that."

"Is that all?" Alina grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the counters.

"He's doing a perfume commercial. TV and stills," he said. "I don't know anything more than that."

Alina tsk'ed and Harry's pocket vibrated. He ignored her in favour of his phone, hoping it was a message from Draco.

_Harry! Lunch next week? Wednesday? Haven't seen you in too long. X Hermione_

"From Draco?" Alina asked and there was a tone of mischief in her voice.

"Hermione," Harry answered, already texting her back.

_wednesday's fine. looking forward to it. :) 1pm, usual place?_

_Sounds good! See you then x_

"I'm having lunch with Hermione on Wednesday," Harry said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "André should be here to cover me by then."

"Sure thing."

"Were you out last night?" Harry asked conversationally. "Noticed you're a little worse for wear. Too much drink?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ha-ha." Alina shot him a glare. "I was up all night studying for the test next week. Not that you'd know anything about _that_."

"Oi! I'm a student too, you know," Harry protested. He closed the fridge and stacked the crates he'd been working with.

"Right."

"And just so you know, so is Draco," Harry pointed out. "Top of his class, too."

"And you?" Alina poked him. "Are you going to be the best doctor out there?"

"Totally."

Harry took the crates to the back and when he returned to the bar, a couple of new customers had shown up and he was suddenly busy making coffees while Alina sorted out their sandwiches.

"I might have a date for next weekend," Alina said once the customers had left.

"Cool. Who is it?"

"This guy I met in Indian Epigraphy," she answered. "I asked him out yesterday and he actually said yes, so..." She grinned.

"What are the plans?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I'll figure something out."

Harry's pocket vibrated again and he dug his phone out.

"Draco this time?"

"Mhh." Harry opened the message.

_We're wrapping up now, should be finished in about an hour or two. Want me to pick something up on the way home?_

_we've run out of laundry detergent_ , Harry texted. _are you picking me up tonight?_

_Can if you want. Can also prepare dinner for when you come home. Think we're running low on lube, I'll pick up some_

Harry grinned and Alina snorted.

"Is he sending you filth? At _work_?" she said.

"We've run out of laundry detergent," Harry said, flashing her an innocent smile.

_dinner sounds good. see you later_

_Love you x_

"Oh no, it's worse," Alina said in mock horror. "He's sending you _sap_."

"Shut up." Harry put his phone back and turned towards the customer who'd just entered.

"How do you do it? We're not all blessed with a lasting long-term relationship to a gorgeous model, you know." Alina grumbled, but took the coffee order without complaint. "My relationships never last more than a couple of months."

"Magic," Harry laughed, bumping his hip against her.

*

"You've got an owl from Blaise," Harry said when Draco returned from seeing his parents. "Be careful, it's been waiting for a long time."

"Ugh, what does he want?" Draco asked, brushing soot off his dress robes.

"I don't know, it won't let me near it." Harry gestured towards the window that overlooked the street. "How was lunch?"

"Terrible," Draco replied as he approached the owl carefully. "Dad went off about unmarried pureblood witches again. He was very concerned for our standing in society, what with me still unmarried and off in the Muggle world doing _stuff_."

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"Mum tried to talk him down, at least." Draco carefully loosened the scroll from the owl's leg. "Don't look at me like that," he muttered at it. "It's not my fault I wasn't at home. Shoo."

The owl glared at him, but took off when Draco opened the window.

"It wasn't the worst lunch I've had with them," Draco then said, flopping down in the sofa. Harry leaned over the back of the sofa, rubbing his shoulders. "It could've been much, much worse." He grinned. "Oh, and you should've seen the look on Dad's face when I said I'd gotten another modelling job. He thinks it's at the same level as prostitution, so he wasn't happy. His mouth makes this little twitch when he's extremely displeased."

"How was your mum?"

"She was good. Same as always, so there's that. She was very pleased with the flowers, by the way. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Harry indicated the letter in Draco's hand. "What does Blaise want?"

"Probably dinner or something," Draco said and unfurled the letter. "Hm, no actually not. He suggests an informal Quidditch game against the 'Gryffindor Pack'. Says Ginny suggested it and that it could be fun."

"It probably would," Harry agreed. "We play on the same day as you do anyway. We might as well meet up and play against each other. Get a proper game out of it. We don't have enough people to have two full teams playing against each other as is..."

"It's a good idea," Draco said thoughtfully. "I'm just wondering how long we're going to be able to keep _us_ secret if we do it...I don't think I'd be able to act the part."

"You mean you can't sneer at me and call me 'Potter' and try to push me off my broom?" Harry joked. "We're not twelve anymore, Draco. No one's expecting us to rip each other's faces off anymore."

"I'm not sure." Draco leaned back, looking up at Harry. "What do your friends expect?"

"My friends would expect me to have grown up," Harry said and bent down to kiss him. "Case in point: Last time I had Ron and Hermione over, I'd left a magazine open on the coffee table. It was the shoot you did for Hilfiger for the autumn collection, remember?"

"That was a good shoot."

"Mhh. Anyway, Ron saw it and said ' _You don't think he's up to something again, do you, Harry?_ ' And I had no idea what he was talking about until he brought the magazine into the kitchen to show me. And I just said 'oh, that' and then I said 'what?'" Harry grinned. "Hermione took the magazine from him and said you looked good. I agreed with her. And then we had dinner."

"That was all?" Draco frowned. Harry put his fingertips on his temple and massaged gently.

"That was all," Harry agreed. "I think we should do it. It would shake up the routine a little. We can just arrange the one game and see how goes from there."

"And if we screw it up?"

"I'm confident we won't."

"I suppose you're right." Draco sighed, closing his eyes. "Feels good."

"Yeah?" Harry smoothed his fingers over Draco's forehead. "You're still frowning. What's eating you?"

"Nothing. I'm just...Okay, I'm still thinking about the Quidditch thing. Guess I'm just worried we'll fall into our habits and forget to be, just, you know. Two people who once went to school together."

"You worry too much. Why don't you change into something more comfortable and maybe go a few rounds on the broom?"

Draco opened his eyes. "Go with me?"

"I've a paper to write," Harry said, apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Draco sighed and got up. "Oh, are we still going out for dinner tonight?"

"I thought we might, but if you're not up to it we can stay in." Harry shrugged.

"Can we decide afterwards? Right now I really don't feel like it, but I might feel differently after clearing my head." Draco started undoing the buttons on his robes. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

*

Harry got up on his tiptoes to see where Hermione was seated, then hurried over.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a rush at the cafe and I couldn't get away earlier," he said, sliding into the seat opposite. "How're you?"

"Fine, thank you," Hermione answered, smiling softly. "I only waited ten minutes this time. Could've been worse."

"You know how it goes," he said, picking up the menu. "I got extra time for my break because of it, so all's good."

"Mh." Hermione squirmed. "Ron _did_ tell you we're trying for a baby, didn't he?"

"Yeah, last week." Harry lowered the menu to look at her. His eyes dropped to her belly. "You're not already... _uhm_?"

"Oh, no - I'm not off the potions yet. Need to finish the cycle first..." She trailed off, her eyes twinkling. "Ginny has news though, but I think she'll announce it to the family at Christmas...have you heard?"

"No." Harry frowned. "Is it about Quidditch? Is she switching teams?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I was trying to be _subtle_ ," she said, "she's -"

A loud ring emanated from Harry's pocket. "Sorry!" He dug his phone out hastily to turn it off, but when he saw the caller ID he hesitated. "It's Alina - my coworker. Mind if I check what's up?"

"Go ahead." Hermione picked up her glass of water, watching Harry speculatively.

" _Harry! Thank god, there was an accident, just outside, and Draco, I think he was coming to see you, I don't know, but the ambulance just left, and -_ "

" _What_?" All colour drained from Harry's face. "Is he all right?"

" _I don't know!_ " Alina sounded hysteric. " _A bunch of people got hurt and there's chaos and I just saw, I recognised him, and I thought, I don't know what happened but the ambulance took him away and now the police are here and I had to tell you!_ "

Harry tried to keep calm, tried to take deep breaths. "Which hospital?" He'd lost all appetite, feeling more like he wanted to throw up.

" _I don't know, whichever's nearest I guess, I'm so sorry Harry, but someone had to tell you and I didn't know what else to do._ " She drew in a gulping breath.

"Okay, listen," Harry said, standing up. "Is Kim there? Go to Kim, she knows what to do next, okay, she'll close the cafe and make sure you get emergency counselling, okay? I'm going to the hospital." He paused briefly, throwing Hermione a panicked glance. "I'll call you later."

"Harry, what -" Hermione was out of her chair, her hand reaching for his shoulder and he balked.

"Not now," he said, hanging up. "I need to go to the hospital, I'm sorry, we'll have lunch later? I need to go." He raked his hand through his hair, thinking, where'd they take him? "Shit, I don't know where, which hospital is closest to Tower Hill, do you think?"

"I don't know, Harry, what's, _who_ got hurt?" she asked, confused.

"The Royal London!" Harry burst out. "I need to go, I'll call you later!" He hurried out of the restaurant, but Hermione followed him.

"Harry!" she called, catching up with him just before he ducked into an alley. "I'm worried - what happened?"

"I -" Harry closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath and trying to collect himself. He only felt bile rising in his throat. "Draco's in hospital," he said, voice tightly controlled. "I need to go. Will you please let me go?"

"As in Draco Malfoy?" Hermione said, her eyes going wide. "I wasn't aware you knew him."

"Well, I do." Harry looked over her shoulder to check the coast was clear. "I'm leaving."

"I'm coming with you," she said and latched onto his arm.

Harry glared at her. "No."

"Something's up here," she said. "You're the most terrified I've ever seen you. There's something you're not telling me."

"This is none of your business, Hermione!" Harry shouted, panic flooding his system. "Just let me go!"

"You're my friend," she said, determined. "And you're distressed, so I'm damn well going to be there."

He glared at her, mouth a thin line of anger and frustration. "Fine," Harry snarled and apparated them both.

They arrived on the next street over from the hospital and Harry took off at a run immediately, Hermione following. He was panting when he reached the reception and his heart was attempting to break free of his ribcage.

"Is Draco Malfoy here?" he asked, all out of breath. "Please tell me he was brought here, it's Malfoy, M-A-L-F -"

"He's just been brought into surgery," the receptionist told him. "Are you his next-of-kin?"

"Yes, what happened?" Harry clutched the counter, trying to ignore Hermione, who was standing just out of his line of sight.

"Mister...?"

"Potter, Harry Potter," Harry replied. "I'm listed, please tell me what happened, I -" He drew in a shaking breath. " _Please_."

The receptionist paused. "If you go to the waiting room, someone will be with you shortly to fill you in. He's in Surgery B, so if you'll find your way to waiting room two B, on the second floor, please."

"Thank you," he barely managed before he took off again.

"Harry, wait -"

He raced up the stairs, looked around quickly, and then found the waiting room. There was no one there, but there was a small desk in the hall, so he ran over. "Any news about Draco Malfoy?" he asked.

The young man seated behind the desk looked up. "He just got in," he answered. "He's suffered multiple superficial injuries, internal bleeding, broken arm, fractured collarbone, cracked ribs, both legs broken and possible concussion." He eyed his screen. "Please take a seat. You'll find a coffee machine just down the hall and the toilets are right over there."

"Is he going to be all right?" Harry asked, mentally cataloguing the injuries and working out how severe they could be, what his chances might be and trying not to think too hard about what'd happen if -

"He's in good hands." The receptionist smiled reassuringly. "Please take a seat."

Harry stepped away from the desk, fisting his hands and trying to get his breathing under control.

"Harry," Hermione said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder and leading him towards the chairs. She pushed him into one and then sat beside him. "I think it might be time to tell me what's going on."

"I don't want to talk about it." He leaned forwards, putting his head in his hands. His heart was racing still and there was nothing he could do about the strange feeling of his world having turned upside down.

"Why are you here, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Why you? Of all people?"

"When he comes out of surgery, I need him transferred to St Mungo's," Harry said, sidestepping the question. "He can be out of there within a week. They can give him something for the concussion so it won't turn into a chronic head trauma and so he'll be able to catch up on his reading. He's likely lost a lot of blood, so they'd give him blood replenishing potions. They'd give him dittany for the scars -" Harry swallowed. "He does freelance modelling, you know."

Hermione didn't say anything, just kept her hand on Harry's shoulder, rubbing little circles.

"If we're going to talk about this, you have to promise me that you won't get angry and that you won't get hurt," he suddenly said, looking up at her.

She gave him a suspicious look. "Should I be worried?"

Harry shrugged. "It's just. You know." Another shrug. "You also have to promise you won't tell anyone. Not even Ron."

"Why?" Hermione was alarmed. "You're frightening me, Harry."

"Yeah, try to be me," Harry retorted, getting out of the chair. He started pacing, alternating between rubbing his face, his eyes, his hair, fiddling with the ring on the chain around his neck or wringing his hands, all the while glancing down the hall in the direction of the surgery. He stopped in front of Hermione, who was watching him warily. "You've got to promise."

"Okay, I promise," she said and walked over to him. "Harry, I think - won't you please just _tell me_?"

He sighed, collapsing. "First things first?" He looked her in the eye. "I'm gay. Second," he added, talking over the gasp Hermione made, "Draco and I have been living together for three years now. We're engaged. So forgive me if I'm not in the mood to talk, but my fucking fiancé is in surgery, okay?"

Hermione's eyes welled up in tears. "Oh, Harry," she said, voice breaking. "I didn't know - I'm so sorry!" She pulled him into a crushing hug.

"Yeah, well," Harry said, feeling awkward. He pushed her away and started pacing again.

She wiped her eyes. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked, and there it was. The hurt Harry had been expecting.

"Why would I?" He stopped. "It's nobody's business. It wasn't exactly crucial for you to know, was it? I'm gay and so fucking what?"

"I thought we were your friends!" Hermione said, tearing up again. "You could've trusted us!"

"It isn't about trust!" Harry pinched his nose. "I made a decision to not tell you because I didn't think it was important. I didn't exactly _hide_ it - I just never told you outright, okay? Didn't see the bloody point."

"And what of Draco? Why couldn't you have told us about him?" She sniffed. "You're not _ashamed_ , are you?"

"No. Look, Hermione, it was a decision we made. Together. We didn't tell anyone. My co-workers picked up on it because he drops me off and picks me up most days and sometimes comes to see me on his lunchbreak. Only a few of my classmates know. His study group knows. His agent knows. That's the extent of it," Harry said. "It's a private thing, okay? It doesn't concern anyone but us."

Hermione dropped into the nearest chair. "I just can't believe you've been in a relationship to Draco Malfoy for three years and we didn't know."

"Four."

"Four," Hermione repeated. "And we never even _noticed_."

Harry stared at her and Hermione looked back, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Excuse me, I have to make a few calls," he said, brushing past her.

*

The numbers on Harry's watch had stopped making sense. The hands seemed to move at either supernatural speed or excruciatingly slowly.

Hermione was still there, but she hadn't spoken to Harry since he came back from calling Draco's agent, and he hadn't spoken to her. He'd not contacted Draco's parents, not wanting to face them yet and also not wanting to face them in a Muggle hospital. He'd firecall them once Draco was in St. Mungo's.

At some point Hermione wordlessly got two cups of coffee from the machine and gave one to Harry.

Time passed, but Harry didn't know what the time was or how long he'd been waiting.

"Harry," Hermione eventually said. "Would you...I'm just curious, but...how did you meet?"

"Madam Malkins. We were eleven," Harry answered.

"That wasn't what I meant," she said quietly. "But it's all right if you don't want to talk about it."

"Guilting me into talking isn't going to work," Harry said, crossing his arms.

"I'm just trying to understand," Hermione protested. "You have to understand it _is_ something of a shock to me. There's a whole side of you - there's a big part of your life that I know next to nothing about."

"And you have to accept that I made a decision," Harry said. "I stand by it."

"Would you have told us at all?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "We weren't planning on telling anyone anytime soon."

"And if I hadn't been there when you got that call...If you'd been all alone. Would you still have told no one?"

"Yeah."

"Were you really intending to shoulder the fact that your fiancé has been badly injured _all alone_?" Hermione asked.

"I don't see what difference it makes, to be honest," Harry said. "No offense, but it's only stressing me out more."

"Would you rather I left?"

Harry looked at her. The hurt was plain on her face. "No," he admitted, with a sigh. "Suppose you might as well stay at this point."

"Well, thank you for that vote of confidence." Hermione crushed her empty styrofoam cup and threw it into the trash. Harry sat down in the chair next to her.

"Remember when I did A-levels to get into medicine?" he asked.

She nodded. "That's years ago."

"Yeah. Well, Draco was doing A-levels too. We only had one subject in common so we didn't see much of each other. We didn't even really speak to each other, just barely acknowledged that the other was there, that sort of thing." Harry shrugged. "After A-levels I didn't see him until... near the end of my first year at university. I'd gone out for drinks with some of the guys from my class and Draco happened to be at the same bar with a couple of classmates."

"Oh." Hermione pulled at a loose thread in her jumper. "That's when you met, then?"

"Yeah, you could say that. We spent the whole night talking. Had a couple of pints, our classmates left, one by one, and in the end it was just us. And the funny thing was, I had a really great time that night. Even if was just, you know, us talking." Harry smiled, then half-shrugged. "I asked him out. He said yes."

Hermione shook her head. "Wow. I almost can't believe it."

"What, that we were civil to one another? That we actually got along?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "We realised we were in agreement about one thing. The war was over. We weren't the kids we once were, either. We were past that, and we were tired. So when he said to me ' _Can't we just be two blokes having a drink and not think about all the shit we did_?' I said yes."

"It makes sense," she said. "It's just. I think he's the last person I'd have thought you'd want to date. It's all very... surprising."

"When we realised we'd been seeing each other for a year, we were surprised too. That's when we bought the flat."

"I thought it was just your flat," Hermione commented thoughtfully. "I thought about it, just before. It never looked like another person lived there."

"Mmmh, well." Harry shrugged. "We're -"

He cut himself off when a tired looking doctor entered the waiting room. "Draco Malfoy's family?" he asked.

"Yes?" Harry stood up, heart in his throat.

"The surgery went well," the doctor said. "There were some complications, but he's stable. He's going to be in a lot of pain, so don't expect him to be very coherent when he wakes up; we are administering large doses of pain relief for the time being."

"Oh," Harry said, feeling his knees give way. He jerked, unable to formulate what he wanted to say. "Can I," he licked his lips, "can I see him?"

"He's in ward two point four," the doctor said, gesturing down the hall. "He should be waking up anytime soon." He smiled. "He's quite a fighter, this one."

"I know," Harry croaked. "Thank you, doctor."

Forgetting everything about Hermione, Harry hurried down the hall to find Draco. He nearly walked past it, but stopped short, hovering in the doorway.

He looked so frail.

His head was bandaged, his right arm and his legs were in casts, and he was hooked up to monitors. Harry nearly stumbled inside. He drew the chair right up next to the bed, but he barely sat on it, leaning forwards. He took Draco's hand and gently laced their fingers, taking care to not disturb the drip.

There was a cut on Draco's left cheek. There was another on his lip.

A shadow fell across the bed and Harry looked up briefly, finding that Hermione was standing just outside the room, talking with the doctor in low voices.

"Hey, Draco," Harry murmured. "That was a pretty shitty thing you did there, scaring the life out of me like that."

Draco remained silent, breathing slowly. Harry watched the rise and fall of his chest. He watched Draco's lips, which were dry and starting to crack. He watched his eyelashes so intently he almost missed it when they started to flutter.

"Draco?" Harry scooted closer.

"Mhh," was the sound Draco made. His eyes fluttered, but opening them seemed to be too much of a hardship. "Harry?" His voice cracked and he coughed.

"I'm here," Harry said, looking around hastily. He located a glass of water with a straw stuck in it on the bedside table. "There's some water here, do you want a sip?"

"Please." Draco grimaced. Harry picked up the glass and brought the straw to Draco's lips.

"There you go, love," he said.

Draco took a couple of small sips. "You never call me that."

"Well, I nearly lost you today, so forgive me if I'm a bit sentimental," Harry replied. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Was run over by a car." He turned his head towards Harry. "Everything hurts."

"They gave you drugs. They'll kick in soon enough," Harry said softly. "Just rest." He squeezed his hand. "I'll be right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"Gotta call Andrew," Draco said. "Gotta tell him I won't make study group today."

"I'll take care of it. Stop thinking."

"And Brittany -"

"I already called her. She cancelled the audition on Saturday."

"Bummer."

"You're not going to audition with two broken legs," Harry said. "Just rest. I'll take care of everything, okay? I'll get you transferred to St Mungo's as soon as possible."

"Mmh." Draco sighed deeply. "Love you."

Harry smiled, but it was watery. "Love you too."

*

"Harry?" Hermione's soft voice broke through Harry's thoughts. "Harry, the St Mungo's people are here."

"Oh." Harry blinked, standing up slowly. Draco was fast asleep. "Okay."

"I've got his personal belongings here," she said, handing Harry a box. "They're ready to transfer him."

"Thank you." He looked up and caught sight of a couple of mediwizards in Muggle garb. "Okay then. Let's do this." He waved them inside.

"I'm going to go home now, Harry," Hermione said. "It's getting late. Make sure you get some sleep tonight, okay?"

"Mmmh," Harry said noncommittally. "Thanks. Say hello to Ron from me. And don't tell him."

"Harry." Hermione sighed. "I can't just not say anything to him."

"It's not your secret to tell, Hermione," Harry said. "So don't."

She looked him in the eye, stubborn look on her face. Then she gave in. "All right, I won't. But I hope you'll tell the rest of the family sooner or later."

"I'm not having this discussion now," he sighed, rubbing his face.

"Get some sleep," she said and gave him a quick hug. "I'll call you tomorrow."

She left and Harry looked after her with a pang of regret and frustration. He turned towards the mediwizards, who'd encased Draco in a cocoon of spells for his transport.

"I'll meet you at St Mungo's," he said. "Is that all right?"

"Sure."

Harry nodded and walked out to find a good place to apparate.

He arrived in the lobby of St Mungo's with a small pop and immediately went over to the reception desk.

"Has Draco Malfoy been admitted?" he asked. "He was supposed to be transferred from a Muggle hospital right about now."

"Let me see," the receptionist said, checking her files. "Mmh, just arrived. He'll be on the first floor in the Damage Control Ward."

"Thank you. Can I use the floo? I need to contact his relatives and inform them of the situation."

"Right over there. Be sure to use the one on the left, the other two are strictly for travellers."

"Thank you." Harry gave her a quick smile.

The floo was free, but he couldn't exactly say he was dying to make the call. He put the box with Draco's belongings on the floor, wiped his hands on his trousers, took a deep breath, and then took a pinch of floo powder from the jar.

"Here goes," he said, dropping onto his knees and throwing the powder into the fire. "Malfoy Manor!"

It didn't take long to establish the connection and before Harry could blink and take in the room, he was met with an elf.

"Can I please speak to Narcissa Malfoy?" he asked. "It concerns Draco."

The elf popped out of existence and Harry had plenty of time to survey the room while waiting. It wasn't the grand entrance hall Harry had once seen, but appeared to be a small, comfortable looking study.

A door to the left opened and Narcissa entered the room.

"Mister Potter," she said, her voice holding a curious tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing pleasant about this call, I'm sorry, Mrs Malfoy," he said. "Draco's in St Mungo's, I'm calling from there. He was run over by a car this morning and was brought to a Muggle hospital, but he's just been transferred to St Mungo's -"

"Is he all right?" Narcissa asked sharply.

"He'll be fine," Harry said. "It's...It was a serious accident. He could've... you know. But he's all right now, he's stable, and St Mungo's is giving him magical treatment now."

"I must go to see him at once," Narcissa said, turning away - and stopping short. She looked at Harry. "Thank you for delivering the message. May I ask how come it is you and not a St Mungo's official who notified me of my son's situation?"

"Er," Harry said, thinking fast. "I'm a medical student. I'm doing a joint programme with St Mungo's and the Muggle hospital called University College Hospital..."

"Oh." She peered at him. "I did not realise you were in medical training. Did you perhaps treat my son?"

"No," Harry answered. "I was there when he was transferred," he added. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on him. I'll be there when you arrive."

"Of course." Narcissa nodded. "Thank you."

Harry crawled backwards and out of the fire, thinking that could've gone a lot worse. At least he hadn't lied directly and merely omitted certain facts. He groaned, rubbing his face. This was all a such a _mess_.

He went to find Draco, hoping he'd get to him before his parents did, and hoping he'd be awake so he could let him know his parents were coming.

*

Draco was awake. He was also much more clear headed than he'd been earlier in the day - with some added grumpiness.

"Hey," Harry said, entering his sick room. He put Draco's box on his bedside table.

"I'm fairly certain I hate transferring," Draco said. "There was a lot of jostling."

Harry smiled. "I know. How're you feeling? Better?"

"Yeah. They gave me some horrible tasting potions, but at least I don't feel like I'm floating on a cloud or something." He sighed. "Where were you? I thought you'd be here."

"I'm sorry. I had to firecall your mother. Your parents are on the way."

"Oh." Draco closed his eyes. "Merlin give me strength," he muttered.

"They love you," Harry said. "Do you want me to stick around? I told your mum I'd be here when she arrived, but..."

"Maybe for a few minutes, if you want," Draco answered. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Hermione knows, though. She was there when I got the call, and...well. I made her promise not to tell."

Draco made a face. "Think she'll keep it?"

"Yes," Harry said. "Look, about the rest of the week, I mean, you'll be kept here for a while, and...I was wondering, do you want me to stay with you? I have training and uni tomorrow, but I'll skip it if you'd rather have me here, and...well, I'm not likely to be very focused tomorrow anyway..."

"Oh." Draco blinked. "Would you stay with me?"

"I -"

"Draco!" Narcissa Malfoy rushed into the room, closely followed by Lucius. "Honey, we just found out - how are you? Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Mum," Draco said. "Dad."

Narcissa's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, honey, you look so - look at all these Muggle things, are you sure you're all right? How long are they keeping you?"

"I don't know, Mum," Draco said. "I'm fine, I'm feeling better, honest."

"Mister Potter," Lucius said and Harry was surprised he'd bothered acknowledging his presence.

"Mister Malfoy," Harry said. "Nice to see you. Er, I should really..." he gestured towards the door.

"I'm moving into your sick room," Narcissa announced, oblivious to Harry and her husband's awkward greetings. "I simply cannot let you stay here all alone."

"Oh, uhm," Harry said. "Draco? I'm just gonna -" he pointed at the door.

"Okay," Draco said, helplessly. "I'll see you later, I suppose."

"Your belongings are in the box," Harry said. "Your clothes probably aren't worth much, but you have some other things in there that seem intact."

Draco nodded, catching Harry's drift.

"Thank you," he said.

"See you later. Mrs Malfoy. Mr Malfoy. Goodbye." Harry waved awkwardly and then left.

Goddammit. He fished his phone out of his pocket and sent Draco a text.

_i love you. sorry. i'll come by tomorrow in my break_

He received a reply almost immediately.

_I love you too. Miss you already_  
_Mum's driving me crazy_  
_Send help_  
_Bring me something nice tomorrow?_

_cookies_ , Harry answered.

*

Harry made cookies. They were in a cake tin in his locker at University College Hospital, waiting for him to pick them up and go see Draco.

 _is the coast clear?_ he texted. _i'm on my way_

He received a reply as he was changing out of his scrubs.

_Sent Mum on errands. I got us half an hour. Miss you x_

Picking up the tin, he looked around. No one was in the locker room, so he apparated from there directly to St Mungo's.

"Hey," he said, walking into Draco's sick room. "They took your casts off, I see."

"Are those cookies?" Draco said and Harry laughed.

"I made them last night," he said. "I promised you cookies, so..." He handed the tin to Draco and sat in the chair next to his bed. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better." Draco sighed. "My bones are apparently still knitting together. It stings. And my mum's a pain in the arse, though I suppose she could've been worse, given the circumstances...."

"Mmh. How's the head?"

"Feels heavy. Stop diagnosing me," Draco complained. "They're giving me stuff and waving their wands at me, what more do you want?"

"All right, all right. I'm just worried, you know. Did they at least tell you how long you have to stay?"

"Until Monday at _least_." Draco made a face. "I'm hoping I'll be able to get rid of Mum tonight. Could you bring me my laptop and my textbooks tomorrow? My laptop and my fashion management textbook are in my locker at uni, but I'll give you my entry card and the code so you can retrieve them."

"Yeah, sure. Just, uhm, don't overexert yourself?"

"Mh, will try," Draco answered, finally opening his box of cookies. "Ohhhh. This is _good_."

"You're welcome," Harry said and reached over to steal a cookie.

"Oi!"

"I'm hungry," Harry said. "I'm skipping my lunch to see you, I think I damn well deserve a cookie."

Draco cradled the box in his arms protectively. Harry ate the cookie he'd stolen.

"I've a lecture starting in fifteen minutes," Harry said. "So I gotta go. Text me when your mum's left?"

"Yeah. Oh, hang on." Draco reached into the drawer in his bedside table and drew out his wallet. He opened it to find a card. "My keycard. The code is six six five seven to get into uni, if you go after hours. And the code to my locker is eight nine zero zero." He gave the card to Harry. "Think you can remember the codes?"

"Six six five seven and eight nine zero zero," he said. "Got it. I'll get another magical adapter for the laptop, I'm going to need mine so you can't borrow that one."

"Okay." Draco smiled. "You're the best. Thank you for the cookies."

"No problem." Harry stood up, smiling broadly at Draco. "Was there anything else?"

"A kiss before you leave." Draco reached up and grabbed the front of Harry's shirt to pull him down. Harry complied, bending down to meet his lips in a soft, warm kiss that lingered perhaps a little longer than usual.

"I've gotta go," Harry said but sneaked another kiss. "See you later."

He straightened up and met a knowing, and somewhat curious, look on the face of Narcissa Malfoy.

"Oh. I'm. Uhm. I was just. Leaving," Harry stammered. He glanced at Draco, who had hid his face in his hands. "Going!"

"Draco," Narcissa said smoothly. "I was hoping you'd finally introduce me to your fiancé, but I'd not expected it to be this way."

 _What_ , Harry thought. _How_.

"Please tell me this is not happening," Draco said from behind his hands. "Go away, Mum."

Harry decided to sneak out of the room before Narcissa could turn on him. Draco could deal with this - and in the meantime, Harry was ignoring how the hell she'd known Draco was engaged.

*

"Hermione, I appreciate your concern, but I'm not talking about this, okay? I'm not in the mood to have this discussion and I need to go to the hospital, so can we like, not have this discussion for the next eternity?" Harry said, attempting to put Draco's textbooks and laptop into his messenger bag one-handedly.

" _I just want you to think about it, Harry_ ," Hermione said. " _I'm only doing it because I care about you._ "

"I _have_ thought about it and I don't need to think about it any more than I've already done," Harry reiterated. "Look, I'm gonna hang up now. We've been going in circles over this forever and I'm just not in the mood. Okay?" Harry hit the red button before Hermione could even reply, scowling.

He reorganised the pile on the dining table and then unceremoniously dumped Draco's things into the messenger bag. He carefully put the laptop into the laptop pocket and then spent a few frenzied minutes looking for the magical adapter he'd picked up on his way home.

Harry's phone vibrated.

_Mum finally left. She insists on meeting you properly._

_i'm on my way. be there in 5_ , Harry texted back.

He found the magical adapter in the grocery bag in the kitchen. He stuffed it into the messenger bag, closed the bag and apparated to St Mungo's.

"How'd she know?" Harry asked first thing.

"Hello my love, I'm happy to see you too," Draco said tiredly. "I have not at all been suffering in captivity by a feral mother dragon."

"That bad?" Harry put the messenger bag down and gave Draco a kiss.

"Pretty much." Draco sighed, then opened his eyes. "Are you familiar with House Tapestries?"

"Er, they cover walls and look pretty?" Harry said, confused.

"I mean the sort that've got family trees on them. They're also called Ancestry Tapestries," Draco said. "You know what those are?"

"Oh! Yes. There was one in Grimmauld Place. It had the entire Black family on it - you were on it too."

"Those. We've got one at the manor for the Malfoy family," Draco said. "It updates itself automatically when someone in the family marries or dies or has a baby. I...didn't know that it also updates itself when someone gets engaged." He huffed. "Mum noticed immediately - thought it was an error at first, because I'd never brought anyone home, least of all _Harry Potter_."

"It's got my name on it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. The engagement embroidery is pink, by the way. Or so she said. So you've been on our tapestry for two years and Mum eventually decided that it was telling the truth - Dad didn't believe her, by the way - and now...well." Draco gestured frustratedly. "She saw us, so. There were no two ways about it."

"Oh..." Harry sank into the chair. "What now?"

"She's going to tell Dad. And then...I don't know. He'll know too, I guess." Draco rubbed his face.

Harry took Draco's hand. "It'll be all right."

"Will it?" Draco asked. "I feel like I just lost control of everything."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Harry said. "I spoke to Hermione again. She keeps saying I should think about coming out to everyone." He made a face. "I don't know, Draco. We can't control what happens now."

Draco snorted. "No. There might be some damage control to be done... I don't know, I'm just fucking tired. I'm fucking pissed off that all this happened because some idiot ran me over with his idiotic car and -" He stopped abruptly. "Sorry. I'm just a lousy patient. Apparently hospitals make me queasy."

"It's okay." Harry lifted Draco's hand and put it against his cheek, then leaned into it. "What are we going to do?"

"I suppose we couldn't have kept it secret forever," Draco said reluctantly. "It would've gotten out eventually, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "It would. Look, so far we've been lucky. No one suspected anything. Hermione didn't know at all - I'd have thought that she, if anyone, would've figured me out, but..." Harry shrugged. Draco moved his thumb over Harry's cheekbone. "You know, one of the arguments she used on me today was that it must be sad for me to never be able to bring you for official or familial functions and stuff."

"It didn't occur to her that maybe I'm not very interested in that sort of thing?" Draco said, amused.

"I didn't even bother pushing the argument," Harry said with a smile.

"Mmmh. So...what do we do?" Draco asked. "Do we... I'd tell Pansy first, if I had to. She'd know how to go about letting the others know so that we can keep it somewhat contained..."

"Are you already strategising how to come out?" Harry smiled, then shook his head. "I wasn't expecting to get there so soon. Are we really doing this?"

"I don't know. It's scary. I'm...I'm so used to just being us, you know? Letting other people in on the secret is...overwhelming."

"Yeah." Harry exhaled. "Can we not decide right now? I really don't want to think of what'll happen when I let the news loose in the family."

"You said when," Draco pointed out.

"I guess I did," Harry answered, then changed the topic. "I brought your stuff. I ran into some people from your class. They said to bring their regards."

"That was nice of them."

"They're collecting for a flower bouquet." Harry smiled. "I told them they'd better make it a box of chocolates."

"You know me so well." Draco grinned. "Thanks."

*

"I can _walk_ , you know," Draco said, huffing. "I'm not an invalid."

"I saw you wobble," Harry said, his arm firmly around Draco's waist. The elevator door slid open and Harry led him out. "They only released you this early because you were making such a fuss."

"Well, being in hospital is boring." Draco pinched Harry's arm. "I can walk."

"You said," Harry replied. "I'm ignoring your protests."

"I'm not going to fall on my arse and break my neck during the two metre walk from the elevator to our front door," Draco said and then looked pointedly at the door, which was now right in front of them. "We're _home_."

"You secretly like it." Harry threw him an amused glance and then unlocked the door. "Don't deny it."

"It's humiliating," Draco said, untangling himself from Harry and walking in. "Being treated like an old man who can barely walk."

"You spent the entire time leaning against me," Harry pointed out. "Sniffing my hair."

"Well, it does smell good," Draco said neutrally. "And I did not _lean_."

"You so did." Harry put down Draco's bag and opened it. "You've got a potion to take in five minutes."

Draco scowled and the tiny scar on his lip from the cut showed clearly. He had a few small nicks like that, that'd been too late for dittany to rescue, but the cut on his cheek at healed over nicely and he had no major scarring.

Harry found the potions box and set it on the coffee table. "The blue one," he said. "In the oblong vial."

"There's more than one," Draco remarked. "There's _five_ of them. There's five of everything in here!"

"Well duh." Harry ruffled his hair. "That's how many more doses you need. The brown one is to be taken with dinner and the other blue one in the square flask should be taken in the evenings."

"And this blue one is for lunch, then?" Draco asked, picking up one of the oblong vials.

"Yup." Harry went into the kitchen. "There's some leftovers in the fridge," he called out. "I'll heat them up."

"Okay." Draco rearranged the potions in the box so that they were neatly laid out in rows, one of each in every compartment. He took out an oblong vial from the Sunday compartment and set it on the table. "Can we eat in here? I can't be arsed to get up."

"You're not feeling dizzy, are you?" Harry asked, appearing with a plate of steaming food in each hand. "I accidentally overdid the warming charm, so be careful."

"I'm not dizzy, I'm just lazy," Draco said, but Harry noticed he was a little paler than he'd been a few minutes earlier.

"Mhh, sure," Harry said, setting the plates down and then fishing the cutlery from a pocket.

"I wish you'd stop putting the cutlery in your pockets," Draco said. "It's not that hard to just go back into the kitchen to get it."

"I'm lazy," Harry said. "And it's clean."

He sat next to Draco and was about to tuck in, when the doorbell rang. He looked at Draco, but Draco shrugged. The doorbell rang again.

Before Harry could get up to answer it, a loud voice carried through the wood. "Harry!"

"Shit, it's Ron," Harry said, putting down his plate and rushing over. "I'm coming!" he called out. He opened the door slightly, placing himself directly in Ron's line of sight to keep Draco out of view. "Hey," he said.

Ron stared at him. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You don't usually forget."

"I - what?" Harry frowned, then realised. "Oh! Oh, Ron, I'm sorry, I'd actually... No, I'd forgotten all about it. I've been...busy and...well..." He rambled, desperately trying to find an excuse.

"Have you been ill?" Ron asked, giving Harry a suspicious look. "You look like shit."

"Uh, not been sleeping much," Harry said. "I'm sorry, I really am. Can we do it later? I'm not really...well...uhm..."

"Can I come in?"

Harry tried to not visibly panic. "No! I, uh, it's not a good time -"

"Have you got _someone_ over?" Ron asked, now grinning and getting up on his toes to see over Harry's head. "I'm curious, tell me!"

"No, Ron, please -" Harry tried to block him, but to no avail. Ron pushed past Harry and then stopped short in the entrance hall, posture stiff and heckles clearly raised.

"Is that...?"

Harry sighed and closed the door, turning around. He took in the view, Draco sitting in the sofa with a plate in one hand and a fork in other, the bag next to the sofa, the potions box on the table and the second plate of steaming food. Nothing much out of the ordinary for Harry, except the look of severe irritation on Draco's face.

What are _you_ doing here?" Ron blurted out.

"I _live_ here," Draco said caustically, lowering his plate. "I'd ask what you think you're doing, barging in like that, but then I'm not at all sure you know real manners."

Ron's eyes went to the door to the bedroom. "You can't," he said. "There's only one bedroom."

"Duh," Draco said.

Harry rubbed his face. "Ron," he said, sighing. "We _do_ live together."

"I don't get it," Ron said, looking between them. "What's going on?"

Draco and Harry looked at each other, then at Ron. "We're, well," Harry said, gesturing between them, "together."

"What?" Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Since when?"

"Since a long fucking time ago, Weasley," Draco said. "Do you mind? I'm trying to eat in peace."

"The kitchen," Harry said, tugging on Ron's arm. "Come on."

Ron followed him wordlessly.

"Water?" Harry asked.

"No thanks." Ron gave Harry a pointed look. "So. You and Malfoy?"

"Yeah, me and Draco," Harry agreed. "Look, I forgot about our lunch date today because I _have_ been really busy; Draco was in an accident and I've been at the hospital and he only just got home today, and...I'm sorry, okay?"

"Hm." Ron crossed his arms. "When were you going to tell me you were seeing him?"

"I wasn't."

Ron scowled. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'd like to know why my best friend didn't see it fit to tell me he was actually in a seemingly long-term relationship with someone."

"You forgot the gay thing," Harry said. He turned around and got himself some water. "I really don't want to get into this discussion, Ron. I've had enough of it with Hermione."

" _Hermione knew?_ " Ron spluttered. "You told Hermione and you didn't tell me?"

"I was forced to tell her," Harry protested. "She was there when I got the call about Draco's accident, okay. I wasn't exactly on my guard. So she knows. I told her not to tell anyone. And I'm going to ask you to also not tell anyone."

"What! Why?"

"Because I don't need people to know!" Harry clenched his jaw. "It's no one's business what I do with my private life. Draco and I decided to keep everything under wraps because hey, he shares my sentiments. No one was supposed to find out, okay? So I'd really prefer it if you didn't tell anyone." He crossed his arms.

"Bloody hell, Harry," Ron groaned. "I just don't believe it. How long has he lived here?"

"Since we moved in," Harry said, through clenched teeth. "We bought this place together. I really do not want to discuss our relationship with you, so please refrain from asking."

"Right," Ron said dubiously. "I don't know, mate. It kinda feels like I don't know you at all all of a sudden."

"What, because I'm in a relationship with Draco?" Harry snorted. "There's no difference. I'm the same person."

"It feels different."

"Because you no longer think I'm a loser who goes home to an empty apartment and has nothing to do with his life but study?" Harry asked.

Ron coloured. "That's not what I meant -"

"What then?"

"I just... it'd have been nice to know!" Ron blurted out. "It'd have been nice to know that you're, well, happy and all that, that you have someone and, well, I don't know, we could've invited both of you over for dinner instead of just you every time, and we wouldn't have worried so much about you and...shit." Ron scratched his head. "And the whole thing about Draco being in hospital, I dunno how bad it was, but well, if we'd known, we'd have been there to support you..."

"That's all very nice," Harry said. "We just chose to not tell. We were already living more or less under the radar from the wizarding world, it was just...part of it. Part of what was ours only, you know?" Harry sighed. "I'm not ashamed, I want you to understand that. I just didn't need the whole world to know what I was up to all the time."

"No one listens to what the Prophet says, " Ron began, but Harry snorted.

"This isn't just about the Prophet. This is about me deciding that my private life is very private."

"Did it have to be so private that not even Hermione and I deserved to know?"

Harry groaned. "I really do not need to explain myself to you."

Ron punched him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Harry touched his jaw tenderly.

" _Think_ ," Ron said, rubbing his knuckles. "Don't fucking tell me you don't know why I did that."

They stared at each other for a long time, then Harry half shrugged, looking down. "Sorry," he said. "I guess I owe both you and Hermione an apology."

"Hm." Ron crossed his arms. "Apology not accepted. Yet. I want an explanation."

"Okay." Harry looked up. "When I started dating Draco, I...just wasn't ready to tell you about it. I didn't know how you'd react. I didn't know if you'd still think of him the way you did in school. I didn't even know what you'd think of the whole me being gay thing. So. That's how it was. I just wasn't ready to tell. And then we decided that we weren't going to tell anyone, so then it stopped being an issue...and I guess we just...kept going, milking it for what it was worth."

"I think I understand that," Ron said, slowly. "So...what now? Are you, you're not still worried about that, are you?"

"Depends." Harry shrugged. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"No." Ron shook his head. "I can't say I'm all that surprised about your being gay. I'm...more surprised about Malfoy, but...well. I don't know him very well." He glanced towards the living room. "Although he did seem very...touchy."

"He gets like that when things fuck up," Harry said. "You haven't seen the worst of him."

"Really?" Ron was sceptical. "Some really fucked up shit happened at school. During the war."

"Draco and I have settled our differences," Harry said pointedly. "I'm not discussing that with you, that's _private_ and is definitely staying that way. If you have anything to settle with Draco, then that's between you and him."

"I guess," Ron said, then sighed. "Bloody hell, Harry."

"Look, about lunch and the match. I _am_ sorry that I forgot. I -"

"Harry," Draco said, having appeared in the doorway. He was carrying both his empty plate and Harry's still full one. "I put a charm on your plate. I'm going to go take a nap." He glanced at Ron. "Weasley." He nodded politely.

"Malfoy," Ron said, returning the greeting.

"I'm sorry I made Harry forget your date," Draco said, putting Harry's plate down on the counter and the dirty plate in the sink. "As I said, I'm taking a nap, Harry. Don't feel like you have to stay in because of me."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "I'll stay in if you want me to."

"And watch me drool into my pillow?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "Go with Weasley to the match. You'll have more fun there, I'll wager." He gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

"All right. Sleep well." Harry gave Draco a brief squeeze, ignoring the look on Ron's face.

"See you around, Weasley," Draco said and walked out. Ron looked between him and Harry, as if he couldn't quite believe his own eyes.

Harry sighed. "So, the game still on?" He glanced at the clock on the wall. "It starts in fifteen minutes. Let's get hot dogs and eat in the stands?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "I'm starving." He looked like he wanted to say something more, but he shook his head and made an after-you-please gesture.

*

Harry tip-toed into the bedroom when he came back from the Quidditch game.

"Draco?" he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning over to touch Draco's shoulder. "Draco, love."

"Mmmh," Draco answered. "M'wake."

"Puddlemere won," Harry said. "Four hundred and fifteen to three hundred and eighty."

"Oh." Draco turned over. "Who got the snitch?"

"Williams." Harry smiled. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I could've slept another eight hours," Draco said and yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's just past six. The game dragged a little," Harry explained. "I brought fish'n'chips for dinner."

"I love you," Draco sighed happily. "Extra vinegar?"

"Of course."

Draco sat up. "I did some thinking while you were out," he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you slept."

"That too," Draco admitted. "No, but I was thinking...about this whole thing. Us. It struck me that if we want to stay in control, then we have to _actually_ be in control - we'll have to tell people on our own terms. We can control who to tell and when, right? I don't think I can handle more accidental discoveries."

"I think so," Harry said. "And...well. We..." He made a face. "Maybe we made a mistake when we kept it all secret for this long. Ron punched me, you know."

"I can see that." Draco frowned at Harry's jaw, which had a mottled bruise on it.

"We should tell them all," Harry said. "And we should be prepared that they're not going to take it well."

Draco agreed. "So...we're doing this." He rubbed his face. "Bloody hell." He crawled out of bed carefully. "Right now all I want to think about is the food you brought. I'm starving."

"I thought we could go out after for dessert," Harry suggested, watching Draco carefully as they went into the kitchen. "Try the new gelato shop down by the station, maybe. Or go to that place you like."

"Can we go to the pub? I feel like having a pint or two."

"We can," Harry said. He removed the stasis charm on the wrappers and opened them. Steam rose up and the kitchen filled with a delicious smell. "I've got training at the hospital tomorrow morning, so if you're all right drinking them on your own?"

"They do an excellent apple juice," Draco said with a smile. He picked up a chip and bit into it. "Oh, since I'm not allowed to go to uni yet, my study group is coming here tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh." Harry paused and then dropped the piece of fried fish he was holding, blowing on his fingers. "How're you going to explain your lack of, well, injuries?"

"I didn't tell them how hurt I was." Draco shrugged. "I just said I'd got roughed up a bit. Should I make up a cover story?"

Harry thought for a moment, opening the little tub of tartar sauce. "Well, if they ask for details... You can tell them you had cracked ribs, a possible concussion which turned out to not be a concussion and maybe also...no, I think that's enough. Bruises and sores, of course, but not anywhere visible. You still have that tiny cut on your lip." He dipped two chips into the sauce. "Tell them you had to stay for observation and because they were afraid of internal injuries and minor fractions."

"That'll be believable enough, you think?"

"Unless they're medical experts, I think it'll be fine," Harry said. "You can go back to uni on Tuesday anyway, so it's not a big deal."

"How long would I have been in hospital if I'd not gotten magical treatment?" Draco asked, curious. "You never said."

"Weeks," Harry said. "Possibly months. You wouldn't have been able to walk - both your legs were broken. Both your femurs, you know. And you had a bad concussion. Muggles are told to refrain from physical _and_ mental work for six months to a year with a head injury like yours."

Draco shuddered. "It'd have been pretty shit for uni. I can't afford to miss a few days, least of all a whole semester."

"I know." Harry gave him a reassuring smile. "But you aren't going to."

"But there's one thing...I didn't realise before. So." He tugged the tub with the sauce closer and scooped up a big blob of sauce with a large chip. "You're being trained in Muggle medicine. You have all your training at a Muggle hospital. How do you cope with that? I mean, knowing they could have superior treatment at St Mungo's?"

"Well..." Harry shrugged. "It's not that difficult, actually. The Muggles can't get magical treatment. It's not just because they're not admitted to St Mungo's, it's that they can't handle it. Our potions are poisonous to them - it's a bit hard to explain, mind, I had an entire course dedicated to this, but the essence of it is, the potions and spells we use in healing, have no effect, or a negative effect, on the Muggles, because they need magic to work."

Draco frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

"It's like this. Wizards and witches are born with magic in their blood. Muggles aren't. When you take a potion for a headache, the potion reacts to the magic in your blood. It's what makes it work. When a Muggle takes a potion for a headache, he or she gets poisoned, because there's no magic in their blood."

"Wow." Draco shook his head. "That's... I had no idea."

"Most people don't," Harry said. "The most basic spells, the kind of spells you'd use to make someone stop bleeding or to close a superficial wound, those work on Muggles, but only because they were designed to be ambiguous. It's very technical and very complicated, and it's not something most people need to know."

"But what about me? I mean, I was in a Muggle hospital and..."

"That's fine. Muggle medicine affects your biochemistry. That's not any different from the Muggles'. You're human, just like they are. The only difference between you and them is that you have a magical gene and they don't."

"I get that," Draco said and licked his fingers. He looked at Harry. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"I know you, Harry. Don't tell me you don't feel guilty that you can't help the Muggles as efficiently as you can help wizards."

"Maybe a little," Harry admitted. "But I also recognise that there is nothing _I_ can do to change that, not at present."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

Harry sighed. "You know I want to go into research in that area."

"So you've told me." Draco smiled. "It's not for nothing they call you the saviour, you know."

"That was a long time ago." Harry flushed.

"Mmmh," Draco nodded, mouth full of fried fish.

"Is your study group staying for dinner?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. It's a long way for them to come. They all live in the east end or in Camden," Draco said. "I was thinking we'd likely just order in if it came to that. You're done at the hospital at seven, right?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded and took the tub of sauce back. "Text me and tell me what's up?"

"Sure. Want me to just order for you if we're eating?"

"You know what I like." Harry polished off the last of his fish and reached over to steal a bite of Draco's.

*

Harry drew in a deep breath before he pushed aside the garden gate to the Burrow and walked up the path. It was cold out and he'd been hesitating long enough that his toes were starting to feel numb.

"Harry!" Hermione opened the front door. "I'm glad you could make it. Hurry up, we were just about to sit." She turned and called out to someone on the inside, "We need an extra plate, Harry just arrived!"

"Hello Hermione," Harry said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm...well."

She gave him a searching look, but Harry avoided it and stepped past her, pulling off his beanie.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley," he said when Molly flurried out of the kitchen to hug him. "Uff! I'm all right - it's not been _that_ long!"

He barely got out of his coat before Molly had taken it and ushered Harry towards the kitchen.

"Eh, Harry!" Bill grinned at him from the opposite end of the table. Fleur was next to him and next to her was little Victoire and Dominique.

Actually, Harry thought the house was pretty full - fuller than he'd expected.

"Hello everyone," he said, sliding into the seat Molly directed him to. "I, uh."

"Long time no see," George said. "Why the long face?"

"I..." Harry cleared his throat. "I have something to tell you, actually, but I thought it'd wait until after dinner..."

Hermione let out a loud gasp. "Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed. "Are you really going to tell?"

"Well, _now_ there's no waiting," Angelina said. Fred was sitting on her lap, thumb in his mouth and large eyes staring at Harry.

So was everyone else, Harry noticed, feeling a little panicked. His cheeks felt hot, but at the same time he felt clammy and cold. His palms were sticky. He looked around, catching Ginny's eyes for a brief moment, and Blaise's, and George was looking at him intently, and okay, he couldn't look at any of them right now, so he looked at his empty glass.

"Okay." He cleared his throat. "The thing is, see, I wanted to tell you...well." He looked up quickly, then back down. "I'm gay. And I'm seeing someone, and...I don't know, maybe I'll bring him for Christmas. Depends."

There was dead silence in the kitchen and Harry didn't dare look up.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so proud of you!" Hermione said, rushing out of her chair to hug him. His glasses got pressed into her stomach

"Oof, Hermione," Harry complained.

"So now you gotta tell us who he is," George said. "Can't just drop the bomb and not deliver hundred per cent."

Harry looked up, surprised to see he was grinning. Angelina was smiling encouragingly at him, and Bill seemed curious. He didn't dare look at Ginny or Arthur or Molly, but Ron was nodding at him and Hermione was scrambling back into her seat.

"Well," Harry cleared his throat again, feeling oddly relieved that no one had walked out. "His name's Draco. Some of you might remember him from school." He looked at Blaise, giving him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Blaise. Draco wanted to tell you himself. I didn't know you'd be here today..." he trailed off. "Sorry."

Blaise nodded, though he looked surprised. George was frowning at Harry and Arthur looked like he was trying to remember why the name was familiar.

"And with that out of the way, let's eat," Ron said, reaching for the large bowl of mashed potatoes. "I'm absolutely starving. Has anyone seen the gravy?"

"Here!" Victoire exclaimed proudly.

Harry shot Ron a grateful look and when Arthur passed him the platter of beef with nothing more than a jovial smile, he allowed himself to relax.

 

Ginny cornered him after dinner.

"Uh, hi," Harry said, looking around for an escape route.

"Don't even try it," she said and Harry swallowed hard. Then she softened. "I'm not going to eat you," she said. "Stop looking so scared."

"Well, you never know," Harry said. "I did keep it secret for a pretty long time." He glanced over at Blaise, who was talking to Ron. "How's Blaise taking it? I mean..."

"Blaise is fine," Ginny said. "I wanted to ask how _you_ are."

"Oh, me, I'm. I'm good." Harry nodded. "I..."

"Look, Harry," Ginny said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "You're acting like a scared rabbit. You don't need to be. There's no one in this house who's going to condemn you for being who you are."

"I didn't think you would," Harry said, stubbornly.

"But you were worried all the same."

"Yeah," Harry admitted. "It's weird, to get it out. Now you all know."

"Yes," she said, amused. "I have to admit I had my suspicions."

"What?" Harry's eyes went wide.

"When we were together," she clarified. "Some things just didn't add up. It makes sense."

"Oh." He looked down. "I didn't think it was that obvious."

"It wasn't," she reassured him. "I just wondered, sometimes."

"Okay." Harry looked at her. "You don't blame me for...well. When we didn't work out?"

"Nah." She shook her head. "We weren't right for each other. And I'm happy with Blaise." She smiled warmly. "I hope you're happy with Draco."

"I am. I'm very happy. I - actually." He blushed. "I wasn't going to tell, because it's, well. We've been together for a long time. Long enough that we got, well..." He tugged at the chain around his neck and showed her the ring hanging from it. "So now you know."

Ginny's eyebrows rose high. "Just how long?" She asked, looking at the ring in wonder, then at Harry. "I thought...I thought maybe you'd just gotten together."

"No," Harry admitted. "We've been...four years. This happened two years ago." He tucked the ring back inside his shirt.

"Four years," Ginny repeated.

Then she hit him.

"Ow!" Harry cried, more in surprise than actual pain. Everyone's heads turned and Harry groaned. "What was that for?"

"Oh you know what that was for," Ginny said. "Four years and you told no one! Engaged! Will wonders ever cease."

"It was nobody's business," Harry sulked. "I shouldn't have shown you that."

Ginny shook her head. "You're the most stubborn person I've ever met. And right now I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing."

"I'm going with good," Harry said, stubbornly. Ginny laughed.

"All right, Harry." She quieted suddenly, looking at him intently. "You know, I have news too. I wasn't going to announce it until Christmas - Mum doesn't even know yet..." She glanced over her shoulder, presumably to make sure that Molly was far enough away that she wouldn't hear.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, turning around again. "Blaise and I, well." She leaned a little closer. "We're expecting."

"You're - oh!" Harry stared at her. And then his eyes dropped to her belly, which looked exactly the same as it'd always done.

"I'm not showing yet," she said with a smile. "But yes."

"Why are you telling me? You didn't even tell your mum?"

"I told Hermione too," she said, rolling her eyes. "You're not the only one we've told. But keep quiet, we want it to be a surprise at Christmas."

Harry stared at her, then nodded. "I'm gonna go get another beer," he said, shaking his head and walking away, thinking he'd go find Arthur and talk about Muggle appliances for a while.

*

"How'd it go?" Harry asked the moment he heard the front door open and close.

"Well, Blaise already knew," Draco said, hooking his scarf over the coat rack. "Obviously. Pansy was... well. A little upset."

Draco turned and Harry saw his eyes were red and swollen.

"Actually she was quite upset." He hung up his coat calmly and then bent down to untie his shoelaces. He stepped out of his shoes. "It was quite a mess."

Harry didn't say anything but only held out his arms. Draco walked into them, looping his arms around Harry's waist tightly, burying his face in his neck. Harry held him tight.

"Why did we think this was a good idea?" Draco asked and his voice was wobbly now. "I _knew_ Pansy would be upset. I fucking knew it."

"We didn't think it was a good idea," Harry reminded him.

"It was a disaster," Draco said. "When I told her we're engaged she _exploded_. The crying was the worst." He sniffled. "She asked if I'd really planned on getting married without her knowing. Without _anyone_ knowing."

"We weren't," Harry said. "Not about the marriage part."

"I _know_ ," Draco said, raising his head and wiping at his cheeks. "I tried to tell her that. She wouldn't listen. Just kept crying and screaming about how I'd betrayed her friendship and let her down and she'd apparently found out via her mother who'd found out via my mother that I'd been in hospital, so... Blaise ended up feeding her brandy, but I don't think it helped."

"Hey," Harry said, voice soft. "She'll be all right in the end, okay? She'll get over it. She's your friend, Draco, she's not going to be upset forever."

"I know." Draco sniffled once more. "It's just. I hate this. I hate this all. And I still have to tell Greg too."

"The others aren't going to pass the word on to him?"

Draco shook his head. "Blaise and Greg aren't on all that good terms. Pansy might, but if I want to be sure, I better do it myself." He sighed. "I've a headache the size of Australia."

"Do you want to lie down for a while?" Harry suggested. "I'll go finish making dinner."

"Yeah."Draco sighed, but was reluctant to move. Harry squeezed him and kissed his cheek, smushing his face against Draco's in an attempt to make him smile.

"Go lie down," he said and Draco nodded.

He stretched out onto the sofa, one arm covering his eyes. "Maybe we should invite Pansy and Theo over for dinner one of these days," he called out.

"Think we should ask Blaise and Ginny over at the same time?" Harry called back. "To alleviate the potential for disaster?"

"I don't know." Draco quieted. "We don't usually...neither of them has been here before."

"Maybe if we invite them into our home then..." Harry appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "Maybe Pansy will more easily be able to, I don't know, reconcile with the idea? If she and Theo come over and if Blaise and Ginny are here too, it'd be like, well. You know. Those couple-y things."

"You mean where we invite each other over for dinners and gossip about our lives and drink wine and talk about marriage and children and home decor?" Draco asked, amused. "I suppose. Pansy would deny it to within an inch of her life, but that sort of kitsch is totally her thing."

"So...we'll do that, then?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Draco sighed. "Suppose we'd need to do the same with Ron and Hermione. Though maybe not at the same time, I don't think we could fit eight people around our dining table."

"No," Harry agreed, looking over his shoulder at the saucepan. "We can invite them later. Though I think Hermione will actually manage to invite us first."

"That's a relief."

*

"You're looking antsy," Alina said and Harry looked up.

"Hm?"

"You," she said. "You look nervous about something. Is everything all right? It's not Draco, is it?"

"Oh. No, no Draco's fine." Harry shook his head. "He's, no, I'm not worrying about him."

"Oh, good." Alina smiled. "It looked pretty bad, you know, when..." she trailed off. "I wasn't sure I was gonna come back today, you know. Kim said I could have today off as well. I can't imagine -" She cut herself off. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Harry grabbed a cloth to wipe the counter he'd just wiped down half a minute earlier.

"Are you sure you don't need some time off?" Alina gave him a suspicious look. "Kim said you haven't missed a shift. I'd have thought...what with Draco's accident and all..."

"Yeah well." Harry shrugged. "I couldn't afford losing the hours." He threw the cloth into a small laundry basket beneath the counter.

"Are you _sure_ you're all right?" Alina insisted. "If nothing's wrong, then why are you so fidgety?"

Harry sighed. "Draco and I decided to come out to our family and friends," he said. "Because of the accident and all. Some people found out and...well." He shrugged. "So we're telling everyone now."

"Oh." Alina's eyes were wide. "They...didn't know? At all?"

"No." Harry drummed his fingers on the counter. "No one knew."

"But..." Alina shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand. How could we know and your closest friends and family not?"

Harry gave a small shrug. "It's not hard," he said eventually. "I just didn't tell them. And you lot are all technically strangers, you know? I didn't mind because it wouldn't carry back, you know? No one I know comes here and you lot only know Draco, so...it was safe."

"I just...I'm sorry, Harry, I just think it sounds so sad." Alina put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you getting a lot of trouble for it now?"

"What? Oh! No - well, my lot are all fine, there's no issues there."

"Oh." Alina paused. "Neither of you is being disowned or rejected?"

"No..." Harry said slowly. "Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed out. It'll be fine."

"Yeah." Alina squeezed his arm reassuringly. "I'm sure it will be."

"Yeah," Harry agreed and went looking for a new cloth.

*

"Think your mum would've told her?" Harry asked, buttoning up his coat. "There's a theoretical chance she would've."

"I don't think so," Draco said, waiting patiently. "I told her not to tell anyone and I have to assume she kept her word. It's my mum, Harry. I know her. She wouldn't break a promise."

"I suppose she wouldn't." Harry hesitated, but when Draco raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed and followed him out of the flat. "Sorry. I'm just nervous. Alina kept fixing my mistakes at work yesterday."

"It's just Andromeda and Teddy," Draco pointed out. "Teddy adores you no matter what."

"And Andromeda?" Harry took Draco's hand in his, Draco taking them to the nearest apparition point. "She's bit of a mystery to me, to be honest."

"I hardly think she's going to be our most pressing problem," Draco said. "Ready?"

Harry nodded, holding onto Draco's hand. Draco apparated them to right outside Andromeda's garden gate.

"So far, so good," Draco said, squeezing Harry's hand. He didn't let go of it as he pushed the gate open.

The door to the house opened and a little boy peeped out. Then he vanished from sight, though Draco and Harry could hear him shout enthusiastically from inside the house.

"Hello?" Harry said, carefully pushing the door open. "Teddy, was that you?"

"Harry!" Teddy cried as he came racing back to the front door. "Draco!" He wobbled between both of them, as if he didn't quite know which direction he should choose, and then eventually flung himself at Harry's legs. He hugged them for the briefest of moments before he let go and threw himself at Draco's legs.

"Granny made chocolate cookies because you're coming," he informed them, vibrating with excitement.

"And Teddy ate half of them before you even arrived," Andromeda said, appearing in the entrance hall. "Come in, boys, and close the door behind you. It's awfully chilly out these days."

"You didn't, did you?" Draco asked Teddy as he took his coat off, mock horror in his voice. Teddy giggled.

"I only ate five!" he said, supremely pleased with himself. "There's _plenty_ left over for you."

"What about me? Don't I get any?" Harry asked, taking Draco's coat and hanging it up with his own.

"No," Teddy said slyly, but then burst into giggles and ran ahead of them into the living room.

Harry and Draco followed him at a more sedate pace. Andromeda had put a small cookie tray onto the coffee table, along with plates and cups. There was a large pitcher of milk and a pot of coffee as well.

"I heard from your mother that you'd been in an accident, Draco," Andromeda said, gesturing for them to sit. Teddy had crawled into one of the two reclining chairs, curling up happily with a fist full of cookies.

"Ah, yes," Draco said, seating himself in the sofa. Harry sat next to him. "I was run over by a car. The police say it was drunk driving - he mowed down half the sidewalk. Two of the Muggles who got hurt didn't survive the accident."

"Really?" Harry looked up from the coffee he was pouring for the three of them. "I didn't know they'd died."

"Read it in the paper," Draco answered. "The driver is being charged with manslaughter. That's all I know." He gave her a small smile. "But as you can see, I'm well."

"It sounds like it was quite serious," Andromeda said. "Your mother was of the opinion that you'd nearly died."

"I..." Draco shrugged. "Suppose I could have. But I didn't."

"He did nearly die," Harry said, putting a hand on Draco's thigh briefly. "He's technically still on sick leave, but he's stubborn and has gone back to university already."

Draco shot him an exasperated look. "Yeah, well, I'd fallen behind enough. I don't want to sit at home all day when I can sit in lectures all day instead."

Harry shook his head, but he was smiling.

"There is something we want to tell you," Draco then said, changing the subject, and handing Andromeda the cup of coffee Harry had poured for her before taking his own. "You might already have guessed?" He glanced between Harry and Andromeda and Teddy, who was looking at him curiously.

"Draco and I are seeing each other," Harry said. "We've been together for a long time. We're...well. In the process of telling the entire family, now."

"I see," Andromeda said, sipping her coffee. "And it is my turn today to get the news?" She looked at both of them over the rim of her cup.

"Er, yes," Draco said. "I suppose it is."

"Mh." She took another sip. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"Wha-?" Harry faltered. Teddy slipped down from his reclining chair to pour himself some milk.

"Oh, nothing, dear." Andromeda gave him a little smile, her eyes twinkling. "Some things just add up."

"Mum told you, didn't she?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"She did nothing of the sort," Andromeda said. "She might have mentioned the tapestry mystery to me once or twice, and wanted to see the Black ancestral tapestry to do a double check, but when she learned that Harry had sold the house -"

"The tapestry has been preserved," Harry protested. "I had professionals take it down -"

"I _know_ , dear," Andromeda said, pointedly. "Any which way, we could not compare the two. But she did come by last week with a very cryptic message." She gave Draco an amused look. "She said that she most certainly could not tell me what was going on in her son's love life, but that she had had confirmation that the tapestry did not lie."

Draco groaned. "I made her promise!"

"She didn't technically break her promise," Andromeda pointed out. "And she didn't do it in bad faith, Draco. She was only happy to share the news."

"Remind me to not invite her to the wedding," Draco grumbled.

"Nonsense." Andromeda put a cookie on a plate and handed it to Draco. "Have a cookie. Teddy helped."

"I put the chocolate chips in!" Teddy added helpfully. "And I also helped stir!"

"I'm sure these are the best cookies in the world, then," Harry said, reaching over to take the cookie off Draco's plate. He bit into it. "Ohhh, those are delicious," he said, offering the remainder of the cookie to Draco. Teddy giggled, watching them happily.

"He's missed you," Andromeda said. "You've both been quite busy lately. It would be lovely if you could find the time to come see him again before Christmas."

"We can try," Harry said. "There's a lot to do this time of year at uni, but..."

"We can take him to buy Christmas trees," Draco said. "One for us and one for you. What do you think of that, buddy?" Draco asked him. "Want to come with us to buy Christmas trees next month?"

"Ohhhyes!" Teddy squealed. "Can we get a big one? Can we, granny?"

"It can't be taller than our ceiling," she said. "Otherwise it'll have to sit outside in the cold and we can't have that, can we?"

"Nooo," Teddy agreed. "But it can be just as tall as the ceiling, right? Will you decorate it with us too?" He asked, crawling over the armrest of the reclining chair and over to the sofa, where he kneeled next to Harry.

Harry glanced at Andromeda, who nodded her consent. "Of course," he said, ruffling Teddy's hair. "Right, Draco?"

"Mmh." Draco had polished off the half-eaten cookie Harry had given him and was reaching for another.

*

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to come with you?" Harry asked, for perhaps the sixth time. "I will if you say the word, Draco."

"I'm sure," Draco said, fidgeting with his cravat. "It's just my dad."

"That might be, but you've been on needles all day." Harry curled his hand around Draco's neck, massaging gently. "I'm serious. I'll come with you if you're that nervous about the outcome."

"It's just my dad," Draco reiterated, but he was leaning into Harry's touch. "I don't know what I'm nervous about. It's my _dad_. And Mum's not going to allow him to disown me or anything."

"Okay. It's your choice. I'll be at home waiting."

"Yeah." Draco finally fixed the cravat to his liking and turned around to face Harry. "Don't worry about me. I've been over the worst now - I honestly don't think anything Dad can say to me will be worse than Pansy in hysterics."

"That's a fair point," Harry said, smiling. "Okay then. Enjoy yourself." He leaned in for a kiss.

"Mhh. See you later." Draco threw a last glance at the mirror and then went over to the fireplace. He drew a deep breath, threw a small handful of powder into the flames and was gone.

Harry flopped onto the sofa, staring at the fireplace.

He barely heard the knock on the door, and it wasn't until third knock that he got up. "Hermione," he said, surprised, as he opened.

"Hello, Harry," she said. "Is it an inconvenient time? I'd normally have called in advance."

"No, no it's fine. Draco just left," Harry said. "Come in."

"Thank you." Hermione shed her coat swiftly and put it away. "I'm sorry to bother you, Harry, but I was hoping you'd help me out with something."

"Oh. Uhm. Depends on what it is, I guess," Harry said. "Something to drink?"

"Water, please." Hermione followed him into the kitchen. She was still clutching her purse, but then sighed and pulled something out of it and showed him. "This."

It was a pregnancy test of the sort Muggles used. "Oh," Harry said. He narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "I thought you weren't off your potions yet."

Hermione coloured. "I might've lied about that," she said. "I went off them three months ago already. We just... you know." She shrugged helplessly.

Harry grinned, then shook his head and indicated the test. "Is it positive?"

"According to the package it came in, yeah," she said. "I was just wondering whether you could...well. Do a check."

"You do know I'm not technically licenced to do this, right?" Harry said. "And that's not even mentioning how it'd be all kinds of inappropriate."

"Harry," Hermione said. "I just don't want to go to the doctor or to St Mungo's if it's a false positive."

Harry sighed. "All right. Let me get my wand, okay?"

Hermione nodded and Harry retrieved his wand from the living room.

"Just stand still and relax, I'll run the diagnostics spell on you."

"Okay." Hermione drew in a deep breath, clearly anxious. Harry made a complicated figure in front of her stomach, muttering the charm. Golden threads appeared and wrapped around her midsection. "Is it working?" she asked.

"A moment, please." Harry held the wand still, waiting for the spell to do its work. After approximately half a minute, the threads unfurled and curled into a ball in front of her stomach, slowly changing colour to a light pink. "I'm getting a positive on this," Harry said.

"Oh." Hermione slumped together. "So it's a double positive then."

Harry smiled. "Congrats. Do you need to sit down?" He was already leading her into a kitchen chair.

She sat down heavily and took a sip of the water Harry had brought her. "It's kind of overwhelming," she said, eventually.

"Didn't you only just make the decision to do this?" Harry asked, sliding into the seat opposite her. "It's more common for it to take several months before anything happens after the contraceptive measures are dropped. Particularly if they're chemical in nature," he said. "Sorry about the doc speak, but..." He shrugged.

Hermione smiled. "It's all right. Thank you for the help."

"No problem."

"So..." she said, hesitantly. "Where's Draco?"

"Dinner with his parents," Harry replied. "He's going to, well. Talk to his dad. About us."

"Oh." Hermione took another sip of her water. "How's that going to go?"

"I have no idea. I'm a bit worried to be honest. I don't trust Lucius." He shrugged. "Suppose I'll find out when Draco comes home. He said not to be worried, but...well."

"I see." Hermione hesitated, drawing circles on the tabletop with the drops of water that ran off her glass. "You were pretty adamant about not coming out, you know. What changed? If I may ask," she added hurriedly.

"Things changed," Harry said with a sigh. "Ron found out too. And Draco's mum found out. We'd started losing control, so...we decided to take the reins back. Do it on our own terms."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, looking up. "I didn't mean to put pressure on you. I just thought..."

"I know. Done's done, okay? We couldn't have prevented it from happening. So. Now it's out. Now our closest family and friends know, and that's that."

Hermione nodded, biting her lip. "Are you unhappy about it?"

"I..." Harry paused, thinking. "I've been stressed out about it. When to tell, who to tell, and how, and I've been worrying about it too. Draco has a lot more to lose than I, you know. I'm fully expecting his father to kick him out of the family or something. I have to expect it because I need to be prepared in case it does happen, you know?"

"I think I understand that," Hermione said. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. Nothing to be done about it." He got up and retrieved a tin from the cupboard. "Andromeda gave us cookies last weekend. Want one? They're really good."

"Did Teddy make them?" Hermione asked, taking a cookie from the tin. It was somewhat pear-shaped. "They're cute."

"He did, to an extent. He's getting really big too." Harry smiled and took a cookie for himself.

"I can imagine. It's been a while since I've seen him." Hermione smiled back. The pregnancy test was still lying on the kitchen table, so she put it back into her purse.

The floo made a sound and Harry nearly flipped the chair as he rushed up. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't disowned," Draco said, shaking his head. "I think my dad's gone soft - oh, hello, Granger."

"Hermione," Hermione said. "Hello, Draco. I was actually just leaving...I'll see you both later." She gave Harry a quick squeeze. "I'll see myself out."

"See you later," Draco said and then Hermione was gone.

"So?" Harry asked. "Not getting disowned is a good thing, but...?"

"It was actually quite pleasant," Draco said, loosening his robes. "I didn't stay for dinner - as you've noticed - but it wasn't because of my dad, it was...well, there was a disaster in the kitchen." Draco let out a small giggle. "It was brilliant. You should've seen the look on Mum's face. I don't think the kitchen has caught on fire since I was little."

"What happened?" Harry took the cravat off Draco. "Elves don't usually...well."

"The hilarious thing is that it was the exact same accident as last time. An unlucky mixture of Ogden's in the sauce with a heating charm _and_ the addition of pepper corns at an inopportune moment," he said, giggling. "So there was a fire. No one got hurt but the food was quite destroyed and as I'd already said what I'd come to say, I just told Mum it was fine, and went home."

"But your dad?" Harry pressed. "What'd he say?"

Draco shook his head in exasperation. "He just said 'well, that could've been a lot worse' and then congratulated me."

There was a heartbeat of silence and then Harry burst out laughing.

Draco huffed, but then shook his head with a small smile, slipping out of his dress robes and folding them over his arm. "I suggest Chinese for dinner. I'm hungry and I was looking forward to not cooking."

"I was thinking Indian," Harry said, dropping Draco's cravat on top of the robes.

*

Life went back to normal - more or less.

Normal had taken on a new flavour. Harry still had training at the hospital on Mondays and lectures on Tuesdays and shifts at the cafe on Wednesdays. Draco still woke him up every day at half past six and they went to uni and work together. Draco still had modelling auditions and jobs. They still found the time to see their families and friends.

Except now Draco went to the gym a couple of times every week. Harry now volunteered information on how Draco was doing when he saw Ron and Hermione and Draco's friends became a part of the small trickle of people who visited their flat from time to time, whether for dinner or short visits.

Draco had a scar on his lip and a more muscular physique. Harry endured questions about marriage and children and never tired of seeing Draco's face on billboards all over the city.

And the informal Quidditch matches became a full on war between the Gryffindor Pack and the Snakes.

_FIN_


End file.
